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USDA Changes Its Policy
On Inspecting Meat Plants

By

Jill Carroll Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Aug. 15, 2002 12:01 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON -- The Agriculture Department, barred by a court order from shutting down meat plants when it detects salmonella in their products, said it would use high salmonella levels as a guide to identify problem facilities and take action against them in other ways.

A federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled in December that the USDA lacked legal authority to shut down plants where its tests showed high levels of salmonella, a potentially dangerous bacterium causing food poisoning. Rather than appeal the ruling, the...